Ray Harryhausen, Dead at 92

La Tete Krancien

How do you begin to encapsulate the life of a man who has meant so much to everything we hold dear?

You really can’t. You can say that, though all death is tragic in its way, living to the age of 92 with so triumphant a career is the least tragic kind and begs celebration of the life more than it does tears for the loss. But that doesn’t mitigate the loss.

From Mighty Joe Young to Clash of the Titans, Harrhyausen brought magical monsters to life, inspiring probably more than a few million battles with toys in boys’ bedrooms around the world. I’m happy to say that in the years before covering all the big studio panels to the exclusion of most else became a mandate for Comic-Con coverage, I was able to watch 20 Million Miles to Earth there with a live commentary from Ray (my write-up from 2007 can be found here). Too frequently, those “legends” panels at SDCC get taken for granted and sparsely attended; let the recent losses of the great Rays, Bradbury and Harryhausen, be a lesson and go see some of those older guys before it’s too late.

Honestly, the best way to pay tribute to the man is to show some of his stuff. So enjoy a handful of highlights after the jump. What was your favorite creation of his?